As the second half of the season starts, the schedule shouldn’t produce a lot of surprises, as there aren’t a lot of “feature” matchups. But those it produces should be big ones.

For example, the N.W. Oregon League schedule has 4 matchups of teams with 2-0 league marks against teams with 0-2 records.

But before looking ahead, there were some games last week with notable outcomes, besides all those upsets in 4A.

The Lincoln Cardinals ascended to the top of the Oregonprepsports poll after Connor Kavanaugh converted a fourth down into a victory over the Black Tornado 28-26. The Cardinals have proven themselves several times over to be the real deal.

It may have been just another good game, but it might be a sign of things to come. Sandy Pioneers 35, Gresham Gophers 28. The battle in the Mt. Hood is shaping up to be a long series of battles like this, and Sandy appears to be ready to be right in the middle of it. And that isn’t something that’s happened a lot.

The California-Oregon challenge game in Autzen stadium that saw the Astoria Fishermen edge the Yreka, CA, Miners 28-26 was a very competitive affair. And it propelled Astoria up to #5 in the poll. The lofty place in the poll and Autzen aren’t places Astoria is usually found in. But it was a rare chance for the middle of the state to see this team from a distant corner, and proof that they belong in the top 5. The Fish only swim inland one more time in the regular season. But I think it may not be the last we hear from the best team from Astoria in a while.

Regis’ win over top ranked Santiam Christian 14-7 lofted the Rams to the top of the Coaches’ poll, but not the Oregonprepsports poll. What happened to getting to be the man after you beat the man?

Despite all these, I have to wonder if there was a more exciting game anywhere than Butte Falls over Camas Valley 54-46 in 2 OTs had to be? Somehow, I doubt anyone left that one early in the fourth quarter to get an early start on the trip home.

Sometimes numbers just jump off the screen. Roosevelt Roughriders 62, Eagle Point Eagles 51. A real defensive battle there! But at least it was close. And another one that people probably stayed for the finish of, which was probably about midnight, with that many scoring plays.

There were a few games where the stands probably did start to empty early. The 51 point win Willamette posted, Gladstone’s 52 point win, and Marist’s 55 pointer all looked pretty gruesome, and Cascade Christian beating a team from 2 classes higher by 67 makes it look like there is still work to be done if redistricting is to improve the competitive balance. But it all pales compared to Mohawk 88 Crow 9. “Wow” is the only thing I can think to say about that.

Fortunately for football fans, there are some games this week that shouldn’t call the competitive balance into question.

Oregon Live’s game of the week is the Oregon equivalent of Notre Dame-USC. Jesuit Crusaders (4-0) @ Beaverton Beavers (2-2). Even if one of them is uncharacteristically down, which the Beavers may or may not be this year, this one gets and deserves attention every year. Are the Beavers really down? Will Jesuit take steps to “reclaim” all the #1 votes from Lincoln?

My alternative choice for game of the week is #2 Westview Wildcats (4-0) @ #7 Aloha Warriors (4-0). I don’t ever remember Aloha being perfect and ranked halfway trough the season. This has to be the biggest game at Aloha, perhaps ever. Westview, meanwhile, hasn’t been around long enough to have much history, but they are writing a lot of it real fast.

A close second choice is #6 Grants Pass Cavemen (5-0) @ #10 South Eugene Axemen (4-0) for the early command of the Southwest Conference.

While on the subject of the Southwest Conference, South Medford Panthers (3-1) @ #5 Sheldon Irish (4-0) is another key game. After all the flap about the Eugene schools having to travel I5 instead of I105 to games, in the first week of league games, its 2 from the Rogue Valley doing the traveling. These are high profile “tests” of redistricting, in more than 1 way.

Regardless of records, the other one down south has nothing to do with redistricting, just plain old “bring-it-on” football. Roseburg Indians (3-1) @ North Medford Black Tornado (2-2) is a game that is Oregon’s equivalent of Michigan & Ohio State. It may yet matter this year state-wide. It ALWAYS matters in Medford & Roseburg.

There is a Three Rivers matchup we should be hearing more about that we are. Putnam Kingsmen (3-1) @ West Linn Lions (4-0) isn’t a game the casual fan would think of as one of the premier games, but look at the combined W-L records. The Lions just disposed of Lakeridge and the Kingsmen are already way ahead of where they were last year. It’s a new world, and one of these teams can move towards the top of it with a win in this one.

Most things about 5A are so new that no one knows what to expect most of the time. But if nothing else good were to come of redistricting, the return to significance of some old rivalries that come up this week would be worth it alone.

5A game of the week is easily #1 West Albany Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0) @ #5 Corvallis Spartans (4-0, 2-0). This rivalry is as old as football in the valley, and its been a while since its been this big a game, state-wide. I suspect some veterans of Bulldog-Spartan battles that were this big generations ago, and haven’t been seen at a high school game in a long time, will show up for this one.

Despite the noted matchups in the N.W. of 2-0’s & 0-2’s, one is still a big one involving 2 ranked teams, #4 Glencoe Crimson Tide “@” #10 Hillsboro Spartans (3-2, 0-2) at Hare field. And because of that 0 in the left column, for HilHi, a REAL big one. Or that ranking and the post season might both be gone for good. Glencoe was the first “new” school added in Hillsboro, and stole the thunder that was HilHi’s for a long time. Hare field was the first of the big, shared stadiums. The history of these guys runs pretty deep, and its fun to see this one being a true headliner again.

The critical game in the Intermountain League is the Bend Lava Bears (2-2, 1-1) at the Pendleton Buckaroos (3-1, 2-0). This isn’t a cross-town rivalry by any stretch, even by eastern Oregon standards. But it has been a pivotal game in the Intermountain about as often as any matchup anywhere in the state has. And it is again. Having lost to Hermiston, if the Lava Bears lose, they will be scrambling for the #3 or #4 playoff spot, both of which are a lot tougher draw than #1 or #2. But if they win, they stay in the hunt, and all kinds of tiebreakers could well come into play. The Rodeo grounds will be full, and rockin.

3A Game of the week is another ancient rivalry, and this one is as important as any in a long time. #3 Dayton Pirates (3-2) @ #9 Willamina Bulldogs (3-1). With Sheridan also playing well, despite Amity’s being down from recent standards, 3A football is alive and VERY well in Yamhill County.

It now appears that Dayton will be without Coach Sullivan for the rest of the season. For those following the Dayton Coach's recovery from surgery for a benign tumor, Sullivan, who had to battle a post-operative infection, now controlled, remains in the Intensive Care Unit at the Oregon Health Science University hospital in Portland. 

According to Dayton Principal Roger Lorenzen, a former player for Sullivan, the coach is steadily improving, and battling this, just as his teams have, and continue to battle. No timetable yet for recovery.

2A Game of the week is #6 Heppner Mustangs (3-2, 2-0) @ #5 Pilot Rock Rockets (4-0, 2-0). Less than an hour apart, by eastern Oregon standards, this is a backyard brawl. And it should be as good as any brawl in the backyard, with at least a share of first place in the Blue Mountain League, and maybe a move further up in the polls as the spoils for the victor.

Another important 2A game is Santiam Wolverines (3-1) @ #3 Blanchet Cavaliers (3-2) on the turf at Willamette University. The Wolverines have quietly put things back together, and are 5-2 going back into last year. Beat Blanchet in the spotlight and suddenly a team you probably haven’t paid attention to could be one of those “Where did they come from?” stories.

1A Game of the week, Westside version is #9 Lowell Devils (4-0, 2-0) @ Mapleton Sailors (4-0, 2-0), for probably to keep pace with #1 Mohawk in Special District 5. Anytime unbeaten teams meet at mid-season, it tends to be a good one, because there are enough wins that the hype & hope everyone starts out with has been reasonably replaced with real success. And first place is at stake. That gets the adrenalin flowing just as well at the 1A level as at 6A or 5A.

1A Game of the week, Eastside version is Prairie City Panthers (4-0, 3-0) @ #6 Crane Mustangs (4-0, 3-0), for sole possession of first place in Special District 6. For some reason this entire league shuts the regular season down a week early, so these teams are already deep in the league chase, and time to recover from a loss is already in short supply.

So, again this week, there are going to be plenty of new scratches put on some helmets.

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